The Girl in the Wall
by StudyInViolet
Summary: AU: After 100 years of war, Mako and Bolin find a strange girl claiming to be the Avatar. Or basically Lok set in Atla's world with a few adjustments.


The Girl in the Wall

* * *

_Earth. Fire. Air. Water._

_The stories our mother used to tell me and my brother spoke of the old days, the time of peace when the nations of the world lived in harmony. But that all changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, had the power to stop them but when the world needed her the most, she abandoned the world leaving us to defend ourselves. A hundred years passed and the Fire Nation moves closer each day to victory. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Southern Water tribe and that the cycle is broken. Others even believe that Avatar is just a fairy tale for children to give hope when there is little left to be found. I'm not sure what I believe, but I can't shake the feeling that one day the avatar will return and save the world._

* * *

Chapter One - The Girl in the Wall

Bolin's stomach grumbled.

It was a sound that usually would have worried Mako, except this time it was Bolin's own fault.

"I told you not to give our food to that animal," Mako said as wrapped the twine around his makeshift fishing pole. A splinter dug into his fingertip, but he shook it off.

"Pabu is not an animal!" Bolin cradled the fire ferret in his arms, rubbing its nose. "He's our new friend!"

Mako sighed, as dug the splinter out. This wasn't the first animal that Bolin tried to take in, and Mako was more than willingly to make sure it was the last. "Well keep your friend away from our food, or he'll become dinner."

As if the fire ferret heard him, it jumped from Bolin's arms scampering on top of his head to cowering in the bush that was Bolin's hair.

"Look you scared him. Shh, Pabu don't be scared, it's only mean old Mako. He's not going to hurt you, buddy."

Mako dropped the fishing line into the water.

"Stop fooling around Bo. I'm not walking home in the dark again, not after the villagers nearly found us."

"We already have enough food for tonight," Bolin pointed at the bucket of already caught fish.

"We need enough for several nights. You know how risky it is to-"

"Because villagers, bandits, or soldiers, won't hesitate to kill us. I know you told me a hundred times."

"And it's worth hearing it again." Mako turned around to face his brother "We're old enough to been forced into the army, but they haven't because –"

The fishing line suddenly dipped as if grabbed by a great weight. Mako lunged for it grabbing the pole, yanking back as he dug into the ground. "Bo give me hand!"

Bolin grabbed on at the pole as well, but whatever the hook had caught it seemed too heavy for the brothers together to pull it up.

"Do you think we caught a lion whale?" Bolin asked.

"I hope whatever it is doesn't break-"

The pole gave a mighty yank out their hands, and Mako teetered forward.

Bolin made to grab him, but only managed to knock him and his brother into the river with a mighty splash.

* * *

_Their mother placed them in barrels of water, quietly instructing them to breath through the straws, and not to come out until it was safe. Bolin thought it was a game, and complied, but Mako had seen the fear in his mother's eyes, eyes that were so much like his own as she closed the lids over their heads._

_ "Keep your brother safe."_

* * *

Mako coughed up the water as he moved about on the cold stone.

Panic set in when he realized he was alone.

"Bolin!"

"I'm right here."

Mako bent a small flame his palm. The light filled the small space around him revealing where Bolin was hunched over the drenched fire ferret. "I think he's going to be okay."

"Good for Pabu," Mako grumbled, casting the light around the place. "I think we're stuck down here."

"Unless we go back into the river."

"Yes," Mako replied dryly, "unless we go back into the river that we're lucky we didn't drown in the first place."

"I rather not do that," Bolin shivered as Pabu climbed on his shoulder, "I'm freezing. Make the flame bigger Mako."

"No, we need to figure out how to get out of here." Childishly, he held up the small flame in his hand out of reach of his younger brother brushing against the cavern's ceiling. He was moving out of the way as Bolin keep trying to reach for it, until Bolin stopped, his hands dropping to the side.

"Mako," Bolin said in a small voice, "I think the rock is on fire."

Mako actually turned to look.

"Why would-"

There was a mighty crash as the rock shattered around them. While the flame in Mako's hand quickly disappeared, there was another source of light coming from inside wall. An almost eerie white-blue light that nearly blinded them before it faded. For a moment, Mako could have sworn there was someone inside.

But that was impossible, right?

"I think I saw someone," Mako said quietly, as he stepped forward, cupping a flame in his hand. He edged toward the hole in the wall, "I'm going to check it out. Stay there."

Bolin plucked Pabu off his face. "I can definitely do that!"

Mako stepped over the rocks, holding the flame over his head.

There was someone in there.

A girl - a water tribe girl. Now that was unusual, this far south. The Fire Nation had eradicated all traces of the Southern Water Tribe a hundred years ago, and few from the northern tribe would travel this far and alone. And they weren't that far from the south pole….

_The Avatar will return one day to save the world._

Mako shook himself, as he stared at this girl. He was the one stopped telling Bolin the stories their mother used to tell them. Stories that were no more true than legends about people turning into moon spirits.

Yet…

Mako reached down to shake the girl awake.

A part of him couldn't help but hope the impossible might just be true.

The girl stirred in her sleep, her eyes fluttering open.

For a moment their eyes met, and he felt the world come to a screeching halt.

Then a fist collided with his jaw.

Mako flew straight through the wall back on the other side.

"What happened," Bolin asked in the darkness.

Mako didn't get a chance to answer as the ground rippled under their feet, illumination coming from an unseen light source in front of them.

The girl stepped out of the hole in the wall bending large boulders out the ground.

"She's an earthbender!" Bolin cried, "but isn't she water tribe?"

The cascade of rocks moved toward their direction, and Mako yanked Bolin out the direction of the attack.

"Why don't you try telling her that!"

The ground was shaking so bad the cave was opening up spilling light around them.

The brothers ducked and dodged the rocks, Bolin on a few occasion actually diverting the flow of a few. In the midst of it all a squeal came from behind them.

"Pabu!" Bolin ran heedlessly in the rocks, before Mako could snatch him back.

Bolin ran up to the fire ferret pulling up a thin shield against the barrage of rocks.

"There you are buddy."

Bolin placed Pabu in his pocket only to freeze in place as the rock shield was bent aside. The strange girl was coming towards him with flames in hand.

Bolin yelped, "She firebends too! Who is this?"

Mako jumped in between them, blocking the fire blast, then bent a bolt of lightning into the ground between them. The light danced across the cave and the girl most surprisingly of all stopped.

Surprise had taken over her features, as the white light in her eyes became blue.

"That's not playing fair," she slurred before she slumped forward onto the ground.

Pabu chittered as the fire ferret climbed onto Bolin's head, peering just as hesitantly as the brothers did.

"Is she dead?"

"I think she's asleep?" Mako cautiously bent a bit fire to hover over her. He kept his distance this time.

"I don't understand, she earthbends, firebends, she was buried in this rock- wait could she be the Avatar?"

"Bolin, not those old stories again!"

"Mom use to tell them to us all the time. The Avatar can bend all the elements, keep things peaceful and harmonious, and is the one person who save the world and the end the war!"

"I think you're forgetting the part where the Avatar abandoned everyone."

"She didn't abandon everyone, she got stuck in the wall!"

"And tried to kill us."

"Aha!" Bolin pointed at Mako, "so you do admit she's the Avatar!"

"No, I don't. I mean, she bent the elements that doesn't me-, look it's not important. We just need to get out of here."

"I think that's a good plan."

The brothers turned slightly in fear at the dangerous girl behind them.

She was sitting up, rubbing her wrist looking at them not quite friendly, but neither ready to attack them again.

"Not smart," she added rather authoritatively, "but a good plan. Let me go get Naga and we'll be on our way."

"Naga?" Bolin whispered to Mako, "please tell me there aren't two of them."

"They're can't be two Avatars," Mako muttered right back.

"How do you know, anything is possible!"

A growl behind made the brothers jump to their feet as a large furry face peered down them.

"Polar Bear Dog!" Bolin yelped sending Pabu into a further frenzy. He ducked behind Mako shoving him forward, "Rabid Polar Bear Dog!"

"Keep your cool," The girl rubbed her check against the beast's head. The fearsome beast made an almost crooning sound at the gesture. "This is Naga, my best friend."

"Your best friend is a polar bear dog," Mako said without a drop of surprise. He was starting to think after the glowing lights, the bending attacks, possibly discovering the Avatar and nearly drowning, nothing could really surprise him today. "Little bro looks like we found someone weirder than you."

"I'm not weird!" the girl stomped her foot rattling the cave, and Bolin whimpered slightly. "I'm Avatar Korra!"

"We figured that," Mako deadpanned, "when you tried to kill us with firebending and earthbending."

"Well you startled me." Korra said, "I was fighting a bunch of people and they knocked me out, and the next thing I knew you woke me up!"

She pointed a figure into his face. While it wasn't lit with a flame, it was enough to make Mako's temper finally snap.

"What do you want?"

"You're a firebender, are you with the Fire Nation!"

"He's not with anyone." Bolin said over Mako's shoulder, "it's just the two of us, and no one really likes us away."

"Wait," Korra said as she looked between then, her eyes narrowing, "you're brothers. But you bend different elements-"

"Why don't we get back to the part where we get out of this cave? You did enough damage that I'm surprised it hasn't caved in yet."

Korra seemed like she wanted to argue, but Mako just remained unmoved until she sighed.

"You win."

She crackled her knuckles and lifted up the ground they were standing up. Bolin made a noise of surprise, but Mako bit down hard on his tongue when he caught Korra looking for his reaction.

As they moved closer to ceiling, she adjusted her movements to split the rock further open. Before they knew it they were standing in the middle of nowhere, almost as if they were never underground in the first place.

Bolin stared around in awe, his jaw slack at the surroundings.

"She really is the Avatar! That's amazing, I never seen bending like that before! Wasn't it amazing Mako?"

"Yeah, Mako," Korra added smugly, "what do you think?"

Mako was staring at the horizon trying to figure out how far they were from the village, their home, and other food sources. He was also trying to sort out this information that was more dangerous than uncontrolled fire.

"I think, we should part ways," Mako said, "it's getting late you and you already caused us enough trouble."

"Come on Mako," Bolin begged, "we can't abandoned her, we found her! The Avatar can't wander around since it's been a hundred years."

"Wait a hundred years?" Korra asked, "I've been asleep for a hundred years?" She looked over at Naga, "that was some hit on the head."

"And more reasons why we shouldn't help you," Mako said roughly, "you abandoned everyone and let the Fire Nation ruin everything."

"But you're a firebender," Korra said confused, "you're Fire Nation!"

"Look all that matters is that we go our way and you go yours."

"But if it's been 100 years, I really don't know where to go, where to start even!"

"We're not helping-"

"We can't not help the Avatar?" Bolin interrupted, "What if it's our destiny to help her!"

Mako annoyance was rising, but his brother was too earnest, and Korra was clearly wasn't going to leave them alone.

Fighting one alone would take most of his patience, but both of them at the same time was too much.

"It's been a hundred years," Mako said wearingly, "where would you even go? Everything you have known is gone."

"True," Korra admitted, "and that's where you two come in."

"You could start by making a plan to defeat the evil Fire Lord-"

Mako glared at his brother.

"No," Mako said, "we can start by finding someone who deals with the Avatar, Avatar duties and other stuff."

Korra rubbed her chin in thought, until her eyes lit up. "I think I might know some people who should be around after a hundred years."

"Good. We'll go in the morning. After we find food and get a good night's sleep."

Korra scowled. "I already slept enough thank you very much."

Mako didn't answer and turned ready to head back to their home empty handed.

He hadn't gotten far when a blur of white passed him.

"We'll meet you home!" Bolin called as he clung on while the Avatar steered Naga across the land.

Mako watched as Korra goaded the polar bear dog to leap over a small stream, with Bolin nearly falling off.

Already Mako could feel the pressure of the headache forming.

"That girl is crazy."


End file.
